Pre-run snack, smores, and fall peeping!

Do you eat before your workout? I don’t always eat before every run. It depends on how I feel, the type of workout I’m going to do, what I ate for dinner the night prior, etc.

This morning I knew I should eat something before running because dinner the night before was really light and I had a tough workout. So I grabbed a banana. It’s no secret that distance runners and bananas go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, I am not a huge fan of bananas. Never have been. I don’t particularly dislike them, I just never reach for them if I have another option. Anyway, given how great they are for running (potassium, etc), I try to eat them every now and then.

If I’m doing a longer workout (>90 min) I would also bring a gel with me. Right now I’m not training for anything in particular – most of my workouts are around 60-70 min – so I haven’t done the whole mid-run fueling thing in a while. I still have a ton of gels in my pantry waiting for the next time I do a long run.

I thought that by now I would have that “itch” to jump into a training plan, but it hasn’t hit me yet. I’m pretty content with my random running non-schedule. There is no pressure to nail a workout, and I don’t feel bad about cutting a run short if I need/want to. Who knows when I will feel ready to start a brand new training cycle. I suppose spring or early summer is when it would make sense to train for a fall race, so we’ll see how things are by then. For the time being, I’ll keep running just to run, and enjoy each mile as it comes.

Speaking of running, have I told you guys about my favorite running store? If you haven’t already, you should definitely check out RunningWarehouse.com! They have amazing deals and always have some kind of holiday special. I check their site daily to see if my running shoes are on sale. I have been running in Saucony Guides for years – switching to the Guides was what helped heal my plantar fasciitis (I was running in less supportive shoes prior to that)!

Not sure about where you are, but here in Connecticut, it has been a warm November so far. There have even been a couple of days in the low 70’s! I’m definitely not complaining :) I mean, I like a refreshing crisp day as much as the next gal, but I can’t say I enjoy New England in February. Definitely not a fan of cold weather here, so I’m soaking in all the late-season warmth that Mother Nature wants to throw my way!

We decided to enjoy one of the warmer evenings outside by having a fire on the patio. It was a perfect night! The stars were twinkling so brightly and the temperature was in that ideal spot where it feels amazing to sit by a crackling fire. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Joel and I have always wanted a house with a great outdoor area, and now that we have one we’re putting it to good use! Our previous houses/apartments didn’t have decks or patios, so we’ve been looking forward to this for a few years! We have really enjoyed spending time on our deck and patio. Joel does a great job keeping the yard/lawn looking stellar at all times, which keeps everything in great shape for when we have people over!

Some friends came over and we roasted smores over the fire. For the chocolate, we used leftover candy from Halloween. It’s a good thing I didn’t buy more than this bag because we barely had any trick-or-treaters on Halloween. There were a ton of kids down on the main road, but very few came over to our street. And you know what that meant… more candy for us! :) The chocolate made for some yummy additions to the smores (especially the Krackle ones which are my favorites)!

After roasting lots of smores, we all hung out talking around the fire for a while. We have some pretty hilarious friends who are veritable experts at making everyone belly laugh –> my favorite thing!

It was really relaxing to just sit by the fire and enjoy the awesome company. I love when the fire embers glow and look like waves rippling in water. I made a joke about how it looked like Mordor, and one of my friends said she didn’t know what that was! Whaaaat!? Turns out, she had never seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies! Those were some of my favorites growing up. I remember reading all the books and anxiously awaiting each movie. I think a LOTR marathon is in order!

Despite the warmer-than-usual temps for this time of year, Fall has officially settled in. Many of the trees around us have turned gorgeous colors.

We like to do a bit of “peeping” — taking in the autumnal colors of the trees — and decided to go for a walk near one of the lakes in Bethany. It may not look like it from this photo (I couldn’t find a better one from the walk hah), but the fall colors are definitely out in full force. It was really pretty!

The trees in our town are definitely doing their thing, and it is lovely! One of my favorite things about where we live is how beautiful it is in every season. In my opinion, the most gorgeous season is Spring because of all the blooming flowers and fresh green everywhere, but fall is not too far behind! I hope we never have to move away from Connecticut, because if we do, we will miss scenery like this a whole lot.

Do you like bananas? What’s your favorite type of chocolate to use in smores? If you ever moved, what would you miss the most about where you live?

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9 thoughts on “Pre-run snack, smores, and fall peeping!”

I’m probably the only distance runner who does not eat bananas. Something about the texture doesn’t taste good to me. I’m so jealous of your outdoor fire ability right now! You’re right, the temperatures we have now along the East Coast make it perfect for a late fall fire.

I only eat bananas in banana bread, guess that doesn’t help you. But, there are so many other foods that are high in potassium and even higher than bananas, maybe find another you like better? In Western PA we are having a warmish fall too, not sure if it is warmer than normal since it’s our first one here, but the swings in temp are very noticeable. We are enjoying the fall colors. They came out in clumps. first we had a lot of yellow now there are a lot of orange and red popping out. it’s nice to have the color lasting for over a month now.

oooh banana bread sounds delicious right now! I’m glad you’re enjoying your first fall in Western PA! Joel and I went to Messiah College just outside Harrisburg, and spent a lot of time in Philly, so lots of good PA memories! I totally agree, the fall colors are so gorgeous, I hope they’ll stick around a while longer!

We’re still hitting mid 80s in AZ… I used to be very adamant about eating something before a work out (in college, that meant animal crackers at 5am) but I don’t do that anymore. I do think it helps give a burst of energy!